We say: Chef and co-owner Toni Clifton is a woman who cooks with passion, heart and skill. Her somewhat nontraditional version of soul food avoids pork products and large quantities of fat and sugar, yet its comfort factor runs high.

We say: At his sprawling, grill-centric restaurant in Port Washington, Elio Sobrero offers a relatively healthy menu -- only to seduce you at the end with the kind of sweets he's built a reputation on.

We say: Studio Grille makes a striking appearance: lofty industrial-style ceilings, coppery walls and dramatic lighting. The underlying surprise is that you can eat very well for lots less than the decor would have you imagine.

We say: Of the countless restaurants that have pulled in and out of the bi-level space near the FarmingdaleLIRR tracks, Chichimecas may prove to be the keeper. One reason is the track record of owners Alejandro (Alex) and Maria González, who have made their two Huntington restaurants -- Oaxaca and Quetzalcoatl -- destinations for authentic Mexican fare. A spoonful of Alex González' heady, homey pozole, or pork and hominy soup, bespeaks his skill as executive chef.

We say: American-born Marivi Wolfe cooks the food of her native Cuban family, a cuisine she grew up eating and translates successfully in dishes including empanadas, shrimp in garlic sauce and pernil asado, or slow-roasted pork shoulder.

We say: John Cordoba, the Costa Rican-born co-owner of Cedarhurst Cafe, is something of a mad scientist when it comes to salads. Hardly dietetic "rabbit food," these are substantial bowls, classifiable as both creative and offbeat.

We say: Family pride runs high at this spinoff of a long-standing Astoria place, and the East Meadow locations's coal-fired pizza ovens produce an “old-fashioned” pie whose crisp, fragrant crust is topped with a confluence of fresh mozzarella, basil and crushed San Marzano tomatoes.

We say: Feeding Long Island's addiction to pan-Asian sushi bar restaurants, the crew at Ten Ten has roots in China, while it's the cuisines of Japan and Southeast Asia that predominate. It's a hybrid that works.